Busting the Contralateral Prophylactic Mastectomy Myth: Incidence of Follow-up Imaging and Biopsy After Risk-Reductive Breast Surgery

AbstractPurpose of ReviewContralateral prophylactic mastectomy (CPM) at the time of unilateral breast cancer surgery is increasing, though still controversial in BRCA( −) patients. We review the relevant literature regarding CPM and specifically abnormal imaging/biopsies in patients following unilateral mastectomy (UM) versus CPM and present results from our own retrospective chart review.Recent FindingsA large cohort study by van la Parra et al. examined the incidence/risk of breast biopsy at follow-up, finding the 5-year estimated biopsy rate to be the lowest for UM compared to breast-conserving surgery. Our retrospective series, similar to others, did not find a significant difference in imaging/biopsies between UM and CPM groups.SummaryCurrent literature regarding imaging/biopsies after CPM is sparse. Recent publications suggest that the incidence of abnormal imaging or biopsy is not reduced in women undergoing bilateral mastectomies for treatment of unilateral breast cancer.
Source: Current Breast Cancer Reports - Category: Cancer & Oncology Source Type: research